Strip assembling and finishing machine



Ja n 8, 1946. I GARbELLA 2,392,375

STRIP ASSEMBLING AND FINISHING MACHINE Filedl Dec. 2, 1943 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 a .9 Wm, M a;

I II

lNVE'NTOA ALBERT B. GARDELLA ATTORNEYS Jan. 1946. A. B. GARDELLA I 92,

STRIP ASSEMBLING AND FINISHING MACHINE lNVf/VTOP 445m? 5. 64mm ATTOI? 5Y5. v

Patented Jan. 8, 1946 res PATENT orries .-.2,392,375 STRIP ASSEMBLING LANDFINISHING MACHINE Albert En-Gardella, Cleveland,-;.:0hio

Application December 2, 1943,..Seni2'tlNo.512,537

5* Claims.

e-imitat n ,aqflpatlatus iQrtfinish- .rn g laminated flexibl ,strip suchtas .is shown, for example, inmy qpending application for corner .United States Patent No, 2,315,360,.granted March so,,1 -943,toR y nd-R. Ward.

Briefly, the aforesaid application andipatent -.-disc10se laminated strips consisting of superposed layers or ribbonsof ,fiexible mater-iaL such .as -,paper, the layers beingof equallength but x-iinegual width .and being :mutually adhesively vnnited in such .manner that .there is-a predetermined-lateral overlap along-at least oneedge, .as :in the aforesaid patent .to. Ward, or .at both .edges, as in the aforesaid'copending application between adjoining surfaces of slightly varying heights.

To accomplish :this or related purposes :to an optimum degree. it is desirable that the stepped edge of the laminated. strip, resulting from the .lateraloverlap asaforesaijd, .be planed, ground, .or smoothed to eliminate .the corner. lines which would otherwise produce obvious demarcation ,lines .in the surface covering superimposed onthe laminated strip.

One {object .of the presentinvention, therefore, .is to provide ,anoveland improved apparatus for tapering or feathering a lateral edge portion ofa ribbon or strip.

.A fu ther bject ,ofthe invention vis toprovide an ap aratus ofthepaturedefined which operates succe s u ly. and econ m all whi e its constr tion ssimn e andx tu td Other ob cts .a dad a ta es. il a p a from theaqcom nrin d n s and s ca ion nd the essential 'features :thereof "will be set forth in'the claims.

*In the drawings Fig. l i ,a top -plan-view "of ,a strip feathering :apparatu embodying the pres- ;ent invention; Fig. '12 is a side elevation partially broken away of the apparatus as-viewed from the lower-edge of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a'sectional-view somewhat enlarged taken on the lines 3-3 of Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a sectional view-somewhat en- "largediaken on the lines {4'4 of Fig. i2, and 'Fig. '5 ;is a sectional view, somewhat enlarged, taken ane-1m; s-tQrFig-i.

ts s enti s th a ar s omp ise e n i e d an'c g t rst ip o he,reathere ..meansl or .20 ;-t0 provide a slightly .-in clined, planar transition source wand power transmissio .means.

":the layer I I.

inside corners the strip is bent to the required angle, here shown as a rightangle, .the Strip ,as-

.guiding the strip in azpredetermmedpath,grind ing means .for featnering-the-strip, and a power The power transmission means includes suitable means; for controlling the-speed anddirection "0f a-pplication of force of the strip advancing-means and the strip-feathering means.

For the, purpose .of illustration, and ot ,OI. 1imi.. .tationthe apparatus and mode i operationwill be described with reference to the feathering of..,an

elongated, angular strip .-.8 of the naturetillus- .trated and -,described in -my aforesaid .copending application, Serial-No. 493,551. .As .best seen .in

.;section.in.Fig. 3,;this strip-is assembled from three layersof unequal (widths, the base .OlaOlltBl layer .10 being widest and-the intennediat layer l.-l,;be ing narrowest, so that-the toplayerlz overlaps When used asrafinishing ,strip on .sembling-and bending operations beingperformed prior .to the feathering operation, and .consequentlynot being here-shown or described.

The apparatus nowto .be describedis ,conven- .iently arranged on topofa suitable bench or table M. The strip advancing means is located atthe leftiFigs-land mend-comprises an upper, driven roll .15 and avlower idler ro1l l.6. The upper ,roll has a friction type surface and is maintained in f-rictionalncontact with the lower roll'by suitable means, such as springs jll, power being "transmitted to the ro11.l.5 from motor 18 throughpulley 211, .belt ,2 l, pulley =22, shaft '2,3,.pul1ey 2.4, belt 125,

,P l1ey.2-8,-speed reduction gearing ,21, and shaft 28. The bearings,'their supports and other ne cessary-elements ,for these and other moving parts .areconventional, and, .while shownin1out1ine;wil1 .not be .-,Specific ally characterized or discussed.

The laminated strip, bent into right anglefd .sectional contour as aforesaid, and traveling from right totleitiinfligs. 1 and '2, isintrodupefdbe tweenstripadvancing mearssucn as rolls Wand I6 in such manner that the horizontal component of the stripisfrictionally grip edf t fie t e rolls, and the vertical component of the strip passes through a vertical circumferential s1ot'3 0 wardly .a .sufiicient distance to ,provide'clearance .IOrall strip sizes-toflbe feathered. Aftermanual introduction of the'leading edge of the strip be- .tween.rolls L5 and 1,6, as indicated, the strip will beifric'tionally drawn therethrough'as long'a the motor continues to run, or until the trailing end of the strlppassesrolls Hand-i6. 1

Guide imeans'is provided forpredetennining the .lLikewise, as best 'seenin Fig. i, a

path of travel of the strip. In the present specific embodiment, as shown in section in Figs. 3 and 4, this guiding means comprises a pair of nested structural shapes, right angular in transverse section, and consisting of an outer guide member 35 and an inner guide member 36 separated along their edges by spacing strips 31 and 31a to thereby provide an elongated angular housing or passage 38 through which the strip travels freely along a controlled path, in part of which controlled path the strip is ground or feathered by mechanism 7 now to be described. 7

Th feathering mechanism comprisesrotatable tool means having peripheral cylindrical cutting surfaces, and here shown as a pair of grindingdiscs or wheels 4| and 42 which are disposed in specific and novel angular relationship to the traveling strip. .As best shown in Fig. 4, which is a section takenthrough disc 42 the inner guide member 35 has been cut back at 39 to. permit the row. The power transmissionlinkage between the motor the traction'roll |5 and the grinding disc 42 is such that the disc rotates at a considerably'higher speed than the traction roll.

I fl'he angular relationship offthe plane of the grindingdisc 42 to the general plane of that portion of the strip being feathered is a distinctiyegandfairly' critical one.

As bestseen in Fig. 1' aplane of rotation ofthe disc 42.is not coincident with a line defining the direction of. strip travel but is slightly askew with respect thereto, the anglelbeinjg pref- I erably not more than 5, degrees. Asis well known to those skilledin'the art certain types of paper,

and particularly the relatively inexpensive type of paper used in'making strip of the natur here described, have pronounced directional properties, tearing or exfoliating much more readily horizontal determines the feathering gradient,

said axis being coincident with shaft 23. Such lateral extent of the feathering, and the gradient thereof are naturally a matterof choice,being dependent to some extent on factors such as the total width of the strip, the number and relative spacing of the laminations, and the thickness of each lamination. V

From disc 42 the strip travels towards, and is engaged by grinding disc 4|; which has a finer abrasive surface and which gives the roughly feathered edge a final cut and a smooth finish.

in the-general direction of the longitudinal fibers,

and =I'have found thatthe angular disposition of the grinding disc as just described produces the smoothest grinding effect while avoiding the normaltendencyjto tear the paper. 1 V f I V plane of rotation of the disc42 is not' perpendicular to therho'rizontal portionof the moving strip but is tilted slightly outwardly at the top to produce the desired inclination of the line of abrading contact of disc and paper, to thereby eifect the desiredtaper or'gradient of the feathered por tion of the strip edge. Said lineof abrading con; ,tact'is indicatedby reference numeral'4li in Fig. 4,

being theline of contact of a cylindrical periphery with aplanerf 'Io more accurately locate andfdefine the inclinatioin of' the grinding disc with respect to the generaljplaneof the strip being feathered, I may 7 in otherwords say that the axis of rotation 'of the disc-isslightly' askewto a line horizontally transverse -to the direction of lstrip'travel, whereby to 'prevent, tearing of the strip, and said axisfo'f rotation, is also inclin'e d or tilted with respect to the plane'of the strip surface, whereby to provide '-a proper taper for the featherededge. 1

'Froma consideration of the principlesjust dis- 7 closed it will be apparent that the width Off the Power is transmitted to disc 4| from motor I8 by means of pulley 50, belt 5|, pulley 52 and shaft 53. Disc 4| likewise travels counter to the direction of-travel of the strip, and is preferably angularly inclined in two planes in the manner' already described with respect to disc 42.

' As best seen in Fig. 1. a comparison of the relativediameters of the various pulleysin the power transmission arrangements, respectively, for discs-4| and 42,'makes it apparent that the second and finer grinding discs 4| has a lower peripheral speed than disc 42. V

The otheredge of the angular strip may-be feathered in like manner by re-inserting the strip in the apparatus with the formerly, vertical com ponent in a horizontal position. Other methods may beused,suchfas1an arrangement wherein a duplicate apparatus is disposed'in tandem with the first, but with theigrinding wheels of the secondapparatusset up at an angle of QO'degrees to those of the first;

guides and the strip-advancing rolls, in a manner' not here shown butobvious tothose skilled in the, art, strips of otherjangular contours or flat strips, maybe feathered in apparatus embodying the invention hereinabove disclosed. Gradual wear of the abrasive discs may be compensated for ,by upward adjustment of the position of the guides, or by a lowering of the bearings carrying the disc shafts, as'will be apparent. r

The character of the abrasive discs may vary with the feathered surface desired, andwhile I have shown discs 4| and 42asernery wheels, a

' close packed wire bristle wheel has satisfactory. 55

WhatI claim is:

l. Apparatus for', feathering the lateral edge of'said strip comprising an abrasive toolhaving a cylindrical cutting surface'rotatablein peripheral contact with said lateral edge portion, means forrotating said tool, the axis ofrotation of said tool being slightly angularly inclined with respect to the plane of the strip surface, andsaid axisof rotation being-also, slightly I askew with respect *0 .of travel of the strip.

V o to a line horizontally transverse to-the direction 2 Apparatusfor feathering the lateral edge .portion of;-an,elongated strip,- including means 'for advancing said strip, guiding means for ,maintaining the stripin a predetermined path,

and means for abrading .the said 7 lateral edge portion ofsaid strip comprising" an abrasive disc proven quite V having a cylindrical cutting surface rotatable in peripheral contact with said lateral edge portion, means for rotating said disc, the axis of rotation of said disc being slightly angularly inclined with respect to the plane of the strip surface, said axis of rotation being also slightly askew with respect to a line horizontally transverse to the direction of travel of the strip, and the direction of rotation of said disc, as determined at the line of contact of disc and strip, being counter to the direction of travel of said strip.

3. Apparatus for feathering the lateral edge portion of an elongated strip, comprising means for advancing said strip, guiding means for maintaining the strip in a predetermined path, and means for abrading the said lateral edge portion of said strip comprising a pair of abrasive discs disposed in tandem at spaced points along the path of travel of said strip, each such disc having a cylindrical cutting surface rotatable in peripheral contact with said lateral edge portion, means for rotating said discs, the axis of rotation of each said disc being slightly angularly inclined with respect to the plane of the strip surface, the axis of rotation of each said disc being also slightly askew with respect to a line horizontally transverse to the direction of travel of said strip, and the direction of rotation of each said disc as determined at its respective line of contact with the strip being counter to the direction of travel of said strip, there being a substantial variation between the respective peripheral linear speeds of said discs.

4. Apparatus for feathering the lateral edge portion of an elongated strip, comprising means for advancing said strip, guiding means for maintaining the strip in a predetermined path, and means for abrading the said lateral edge portion of said strip comprising a, pair of abrasive discs disposed in tandem at spaced points along the path of travel of said strip, each such disc having a cylindrical cutting surface rotatable in peripheral contact with said lateral edge portion, means for rotating said discs, the axis of rotation of each said disc being slightly angularly inclined with respect to the plane of the strip surface, the axis of rotation of each said disc being also slightly askew with respect to a line horizontally transverse to the direction of travel of said strip, and the direction of rotation of each said disc as determined at its respective line of contact with the strip being counter to the direction of travel of said strip,

5. Apparatus for feathering the lateral edge portion of an elongated strip, comprising means 5 for advancing said strip, guiding means for maintaining the strip in a predetermined path, and means for abrading the said lateral edge portion of said strip comprising a pair of abrasive discs disposed in tandem at spaced points along the path of travel of said strip, each such disc having a cylindrical cutting surface rotatable in peripheral contact with said lateral edge portion, means for rotating said discs, the axis of rotation of each said disc being slightly angularly inclined with respect to the plane of the strip surface, the axis of rotation of each said disc being also slightly askew with respect to a line horizontally transverse to the direction of travel of said strip, and the direction of rotation of each said disc as determined at its respective line of contact with the strip being counter to the direction of travel .of said strip, there being a substantial variation between the respective peripheral linear speeds of said discs, and the abra- 5 sive disc first contacted by the strip having a higher peripheral speed than the abrasive disc thereafter contacted.

6. Apparatus for feathering the lateral edge portion of an elongated strip, comprising means for advancing said strip, guiding means for maintaining the strip in a predetermined path, and means for abrading the said lateral edge portion of said strip comprising a pair of abrasive discs disposed in tandem at spaced points along the path of travel of said strip, each such .disc having a cylindrical cutting surface rotatable in peripheral contact with said lateral edge portion, means for rotating said discs, the axis of rotation of each said disc being slightly angularly inclined with respect to the plane of the strip surface, the axis of rotation of each said disc being also slightly askew with respect to a line horizontally transverse to the direction of travel of said strip, and the direction of rotation of each said disc as determined at its respective line of contact with the strip being counter to the direction of travel of said strip, and the abrasive disc first contacted by the strip having a higher peripheral speed than the abrasive disc thereafter contacted.

ALBERT B. GARDEILA. 

